Warnings - Fanlore

Warnings are the header element in fanworks that warn readers or viewers of potentially disturbing content, including but not limited to graphic sex, violence, chan, rape or non-con, BDSM or other kinks, foul language, character death, triggering depictions of mental illness, spoilers, slash, het, homophobia, or a host of other possibly offensive elements and squicks. Many fans also expect a warning for an unhappy ending, such as their OTP not getting together or breaking up.

cover of the zine, I'm Not Cutting My Hair

Sometimes warnings are used to attract readers who may be seeking a specific type of content, such as a particular kink.

Warnings may also used in a facetious manner, to "warn" readers about content that is unlikely to be disturbing. ("Warnings: You cannot look away from the Shiba Inu puppy cam." ^[1].)

Different fandoms may have their own unwritten standards about what kinds of content need to be warned for, and archives or LiveJournal communities usually have written rules.

Certain fandoms become well-known for their warnings. For example, The Sentinel slash fiction developed a growing list of warnings. The trend peaked in late 1999 or early 2000, when during a Senad discussion about warnings -- with many people suggesting things that should be warned for -- one fan asked that people warn for stories where Blair cuts his hair, which she personally found traumatic. The idea was quickly shouted down and the fan withdrew her request, but it was such an extreme one that word spread out to other fandoms, cementing Sentinel fandom's reputation at the time as the most-warned-for fandom ever.

Controversy

Warnings are occasionally the subject of controversy. Some fans choose not to include warnings on their fanworks because they want their work received without preconceived ideas; additionally, warnings may spoil important plot points. However, other fans may become mentally or emotionally distraught if they read or view work that contains triggering themes, or encounter a story element that they strongly dislike.

There is perennial disagreement among fans about what kinds of content should be warned for. Warning for certain elements, such as slash, may be seen as homophobic; warning for het, especially when the heterosexual pairing in question is canonical may be seen as misogynistic. Some fans feel that warning for elements that are present in the source text, such as violence, is unnecessary. Some warnings may not have solid definitions shared by all fans; the dub-con label was created in order to address a certain type of rapefic kink, usually along the lines of sex pollen or Aliens Made Them Do It, but some fans debate that there is any difference between rape and dub-con, and there have been instances where fans felt misled by these warnings.

Seriously, let's nail down a precise definition of "rape" and "non-con" (in between sessions of herding cats) and THEN let's talk about whether you should use those warnings or not, because even if everyone started using those warnings tomorrow, everyone would be using them to *mean different things*. .... Like I said to darthhellokitty, even with something as common as being a vegetarian, there will always be people who are like "Since you're a vegetarian, tonight we're having fish! ^[2]

Writers who do not like to warn are often accused of trying to force readers to read the way they want them to. However, it is not actually possible for a writer to force a reader to read a story without warnings. Since this is the case, most writers who do not include warnings frame the discussion in terms of personal responsibility, arguing that readers who know that they are vulnerable to being seriously affected by certain story elements should refrain from reading unlabeled stories, just as a vegetarian might refrain from eating an unlabeled food product.

In most cases it's just that they themselves do not like warnings as readers, and thus when faced with two types of readers, unsurprisingly favor those like themselves.

There also have been various compromise solutions implemented to satisfy both pro- and anti-warning preferences and leave the choice to the readers themselves. That includes special formatting, such as warning display options in archives, putting warnings in a separate post on lists, in a hidden section that is only visible when highlighted in journal or website posts, or on the bottom of the story or linked on a separate page.

Warnings on songvids

The idea of warnings on songvids comes up from time to time. With songvids at convention vidshows, you're sitting in a room, when suddenly something squicky appears. These are usually new vids, too, so it's hard to have a friend pre-watch them for you. In the late '80s-early '90s, a few slash vids had m/m porn clips cut into them, which shocked (or at least surprised) some congoers. More recently, vids done to movies (like Absolutedestiny's 15 vid Deep Kick at Escapade 2008) or HBO/Showtime shows with visceral violence (Oz at VividCon 2004, Dexter at Vividcon 2008), have led some congoers to wonder if there is some way to warn susceptible members of the audience before a vid show.^[3] Vidders tend to hate this idea with the fire of a thousand suns.

References

1. ↑ Seraphwings,header of fic. Accessed November 13, 2008
2. ↑ Liviapenn in comments, The warning debate, 2007 edition Posted January 05, 2007. Last accessed November 13, 2008.
3. ↑ Elke Tanzer.Gut reactions are visceral, let me show you them. Posted 11 March 2008 (accessed 15 November 2008)